Watchful
by dragonlover17
Summary: Have you ever gotten the feelling that you are not alone? The feeling that something is watching your every move, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Hiccup feels this way and goes looking for the source. He is unaware of the plan to which he is the key. What he finds could change his life forever. Or end it. I don't own HTTYD characters or content! Rated T for some blood.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: Thanks so much for reading this! Just to be clear, this story has nothing to do with my other one. That's all I have to say so... read, review, and enjoy the first chapter of Watchful!**_

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked after her friend had started staring off somewhere outside the Academy. Again.

"Huh? What?" He was brought back to his senses by her question.

"Hiccup, the class? The one you are supposed to be teaching us?" Fishlegs, too, was starting to get concerned for his friend. Hiccup usually loved teaching classes but, lately, he was getting distracted.

"Oh, right."

"Hiccup, are you okay? You have been doing that a lot lately."

"I'm fine, Astrid."

"If you are fine then why do you keep staring at random trees?" Snotlout asked.

"Maybe he expects it to turn into a new dragon that he can train!" Tuffnut answered.

"Hello, dragon. You can be my friend. All dragons are my friends. My leg fell off. I stare at random trees hoping that they will explode or make my boring, good-for-nothing life more exiting." Ruffnut said, trying to do her infamous Hiccup impression. She high-fived her twin then they hit helmets; their sort of a messed up handshake. Hiccup face palmed.

"Okay, Ruff, first, I don't sound like that. Second, for the millionth time, _my leg did not fall off_! Third, I wasn't staring at a tree and fourth, I don't think my life is boring at all!"

"What do you keep staring at then?" Snotlout asked.

"I though I… never-mind. Back to the lesson."

"Hiccup, it's been a long day. Maybe you should just go home and get some rest." Astrid interrupted, concerned for her friend.

"I'm okay, Astrid. Really," Hiccup said while rubbing his eyes. Astrid gave him a look and he got her point.

"Fine. Class dismissed. Toothless!" Toothless immediately bounded to his rider's side.

"Yeah!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut yelled in unison while they mounted Barf and Belch and flew off to go cause trouble somewhere.

Fishlegs and Snotlout soon followed the twins out of the Academy and Astrid walked over to Hiccup.

"Now that we are alone, I want to know what is going on with you." Astrid stood in-between Hiccup and Toothless so to ensure that her question was answered.

"I… I'm just tired. You know, with the recent war with the Berserkers and all?" Hiccup lied, hoping Astrid would believe him. Of course, she being the person who knows him best, saw right through his lie. She did, however, realize that he Hiccup didn't want to tell her. She respected that, for now, and let him pass to mount Toothless. He flew off, leaving Astrid alone with Stormfly in the Academy.

"There's something bothering him, isn't there, Stormfly? I doubt it had anything to do with the war, though." Astrid climbed on her dragon's back. Suddenly Stormfly became tense and her tail spikes shot up.

"What is it girl?" Astrid looked around but didn't see anything unusual. She thought she heard someone walking in the woods in the distance, but Stormfly calmed down and Astrid didn't think anything of it. She just assumed that it was a Terrible Terror or some other dragon.

She was dead wrong.

—

He watched as the boy flew out of the arena. He followed the boy and his Nightfury, knowing he had to complete his mission soon. He was traveling on foot, therefore almost loosing sight of the pair numerous times. But he is quick, moving through the shadows. The boy and his dragon landed in front of their house and went inside. He has a perfect view of the pair from his hiding spot in the woods. That is, until they went into the cover of their house, where he couldn't touch them. Just a few more days and the plan would be in motion. Oh, his master will be delighted! He couldn't wait to return home with the answer to their problems. He would be praised as a hero! But first, he had to carry out the seemingly impossible mission. It would be difficult, but he knew that he was capable. He was going back to his tent in the depths of the Berkian woods when he saw the boy and his dragon take off into the sky. He turned and ran back to the village, louder than he had hoped. If he wanted to get the boy, alone, this was a good a chance as any.

—

"You hungry bud?" Hiccup asked as Toothless jumped around his rider. Hiccup giggled and gave Toothless his dinner: a basket full of fish. He walked upstairs to his room and sat down at his desk. He was working on a new tail for Toothless that would allow them to turn more swiftly. He started working on the blueprint when Toohtless came up and nudged him. It was getting dark and Toothless was eager to go on their nighttime flight.

"I'm trying to come up with an idea for your new tail, bud. Don't you want to be able to turn better?" Toothless nudged him again and looked through the window.

"Alright Toothless, we can go flying." As they walked out of their house they were met by none other than Stoik the Vast.

"Hiccup. Where are you two going?" He asked gleefully.

"Just going on our evening flight. I was trying to draw up some sketches for a new tail for Toothless, but he insisted." Toothless wiggled about, getting more eager to go flying with his best friend. Stoik laughed at his son's dragon and stepped aside to let them pass.

"Be careful son."

"When am I not careful?" Stoik opened his mouth to speak but Hiccup interrupted. "Don't answer that."

He mounted Toothless and they flew off into the night with such speed that never ceased to amaze Stoik.

—

"Where to, bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless as they lazily flew around Berk.

Toothless just kept flying, not wanting to go to a specific destination. He just want to fly. Hiccup shrugged and opened Toothless's tail with his prosthetic as they flew through the sea stacks surrounding Berk.

Hiccup usually loved flying, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Something just didn't feel right. He knew that Toothless would want to keep flying, but Hiccup had to stick to his gut feeling.

"Okay, bud, let's go home."

Toothless whined and reluctantly flew back to the village. They landed in front of his house and Hiccup froze. He saw a pair of eyes staring at him from a small distance away. Toothless saw them too and started growling. The eyes and their owner acknowledged that they had been spotted and quickly retreated, Hiccup and Toothless closely following. Hiccup saw somebody running into the woods and Toothless shot a plasma blast at him. The blast missed it's target but awakened some nearby villagers. As they came out of their houses to see what all of the commotion was about they saw Toothless and Hiccup racing into the woods. But after what, they did not know. Stoik, too, saw his son and his dragon racing into the woods.

"Hiccup?" He yelled to his son as he and Toothless stood at the edge of the woods. Toothless was growling in the direction of the deepest part of the woods while Hiccup lust glared into them, trying to make out any signs of movement.

"Hiccup? What's going on?" Stoik ran up to his son, concerned for the sudden outburst. When he didn't get a response he tried again.

"Hiccup!"

"What? Oh, sorry dad. Toothless…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Toothless got spooked by… a herd of Terrible Terrors. They went into the woods. But they're gone now so…" Hiccup lied, not wanting to reveal what he really saw with most of the village watching.

Hiccup and Toothless went back to their house and Stoik told the crowd of curious Vikings to do the same. Hiccup went upstairs to his room and lay in his bed, Toothless shooting his own bed with fire before curling down and going to sleep. Hiccup thought to himself about the strange man they had encountered.

_Who was that guy? Why was he watching me? Why did he run away when we confronted him? _

The questions swam through his head as he drifted off into a light, unsettled sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: Hey everybody! Thanks so much for reading and an extra thanks to the reviews and followers! I just wanted to give you a head's up: once each chapter, in the point of view from the 'man' there will be a subtle hint that tells more about him. Be alert when you read it though, the hint could be the entire paragraph or maybe **__**just one word**__**. Well, that's all I have to say. Read, review, and enjoy the second chapter of Watchful!**_

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

He ran as fast as he could away from the village. When he got to his tent in the depths of the woods he rushed inside and then collapsed onto the ground, letting the adrenaline rush slowly fade away. He was infuriated with himself: he might have just caused the failure of his mission! The boy had seen him! Surely a boy that clever would be on edge from now on, making his job ten times more difficult. Hopefully the boy hadn't told the others of his irritating little village what he had seen. That would defiantly compromise his mission. But he couldn't think about that now. That was in the past. Right now, he has to sleep and regain his strength, surely the boy would look for him in the morning. But, in the faithful moment when they encounter, the plan will be in motion. Yes, he _will_ have that boy!

* * *

"Hiccup!" Stoik the Vast yelled up to his son's room, only to find that Hiccup wasn't present.

_Where could you have gone? Flying? The Academy? Maybe the forge?_

Stoik thought to himself while leaving his house to look for his son. He wanted to know what all the commotion was about last night. Nightfuries just don't get startled by Terrible Terrors. Stoik knew his son was holding back the truth and he was determined to find out why. He walked out of his house toward the forge. Sure enough, as he got closer he saw Toothless lying outside.

"Good morning, Toothless. Is Hiccup inside?" Toothless responded with a calm roar. Stoik walked inside the forge to find Hiccup working on a complex… he didn't really know exactly what it was.

"Morning, son."

"Oh, hey dad." Hiccup said, his eyes not leaving his work.

"What are you…"

"New tail for Toothless. I finished the blueprints so I thought I would get up early and start working on it. It should let us turn more swiftly."

"Oh, alright then. So, Hiccup, about last night: what happened that you aren't telling me?" Hiccup stiffened up then put his tools down.

"Nothing. Uh, dad, I'm late for… a class at the Academy so I'm just going to… ya." Hiccup ran over to Toothless and they took off. Stoik did not have his question answered; that just confirmed his suspicion that something is going on with his son. Just then, Gobber came into the forge.

"Hey, Stoik. What brings you here today?"

"There is something he isn't telling me." Stoik answered, mostly to himself.

"Who?"

"Hiccup! Last night! He chased something into the woods but refuses to tell anybody what he saw."

"Listen, Stoik, I know you're concerned for him. You are just being fatherly. But you have to give the boy some space. If you just keep pressuring him he will drift farther away into the sea." Gobber reassured his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, you're right. It's just, with the recent war with the Berserkers, I'm sure that Dagur will want to get to him. I just want to protect him. I want to be the best father I can to him, for all of those years I wasn't." Stoik sighed as he walked away.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless were flying idly over the woods toward the Academy. There was a class today, but he would arrive early. He didn't want to have to confess to his father what he saw. He didn't know exactly why he couldn't tell what he saw, but he had decided to keep it a secret. He didn't want his father to lose it if he found out that Hiccup was being watched. His father was very overprotective, and even that one time would make his fatherly instincts kick in. Plus, Hiccup's curiosity was getting the best of him. He wanted to know who the man was and why he was watching them.

"The class doesn't start for a while, bud. Why don't we go into the woods and look for that man?" Hiccup said to Toothless as they neared the Academy. Toothless roared in response. Hiccup smiled as they dove into the Berkian forest.

* * *

The magnificent roar of a Nightfury awoke him. He quickly got up and ran out of the tent. But before he could go to find the boy he had to cover his tracks. He pushed the tent into a small hole under a rock and cleared away anything else that would suggest someone had been there.

_Now! Now I can carry out the plan! _

He thought to himself as he saw the Nightfury and the boy dive down into the forest.

_The boy's curiosity will be his downfall. I will make sure of it._


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's note: Hey everybody! Thanks again for reading and thanks for all of the reviews/followers. In response to your comment, _****_Dawnbreaker Dragon,_****_ yes, I am going to have more of the story of the 'man' in later chapters. Each chapter reveals a little more about him, until all the little details come together. That will happen in a later chapter though. _**

**_This chapter has two major clues from where the man comes from. One of the clues is pretty obvious but the other one you have to think about to understand._**

**_Well, that's all I have to say. _**

**_Read, review, and enjoy chapter 3 of Watchful!_**

* * *

Hiccup jumped off Toothless' back, his prosthetic creaking as it landed on the soft, moss-covered forest floor.

"Did you happen to get the smell of that guy last night, but?" Hiccup asked hopefully. Toothless lowered his head slightly from disappointing his rider.

"It's okay, bud. We were both in a rush. I didn't really expect you to get a scent. He was too fast." Hiccup reassured his best friend.

"So, where do we start?" Hiccup looked around the forest.

"Hmm, he ran in the forest from over there," he pointed to the point in the forest closest to the village, "and he was running that way," moving his arm in the direction the man was running,"so if he kept going straight he would have ended up somewhere along this path." Toothless tilted his head to the left earning a giggle from Hiccup.

"Come on bud, this way. Let's just hope he kept moving straight." The duo started walking through the forest looking for any signs of the man: footprints, broken branches, or if Toothless found a different smell. Suddenly Toothless' ears perked up and he stiffened.

"What is it bud?" Hiccup stepped closer to Toothless and looked around to see what was catching Toothless' attention. Hiccup saw a trail of footprints on the ground.

"This way." Hiccup took off along the trail, Toothless closely following. They followed the trail of footprints to a tall hill in the forest, still covered with trees. Once again, Toothless' ears perked up and he stopped moving.

"Did you hear something?" Hiccup asked. He got the feeling they weren't alone. He looked around but saw no one.

Toothless started growling while looking around the woods for the same reason as Hiccup. He didn't smell or see anyone, but he still knew someone was watching them. He just knew. If only he could talk to his rider, he would warn him. But after looking at Hiccup he saw that his rider had the same feeling.

"Okay, Toothless, let's just go back to the—"

A small box came tumbling down the hill. A black box no bigger than Hiccup's head with a black clasp. Hiccup bent down to pick up the box. He recognized the material form somewhere but he couldn't quite remember where. He looked up the hill but saw nothing. No sign of anyone or anything that could have thrown the box down the hill. Toothless sniffed the box and quickly drew his head back while growling both at the box and up at the hill. He, too, was curious to where the box had come from. Hiccup started to go up the hill but he heard the distant roar of a Monstrous Nightmare which reminded him of his duties in the Academy.

"Come on, bud. We have to get to the Academy. I know, I want to know where this came from too, but I have duties as the head of the Academy. But let's keep this a secret, okay? At least until we can figure out how to open it and what's inside." With that, Hiccup jumped onto Toothless and they flew off to the Academy. He wanted desperately to know what was going on; with the man and now the box. But his Academy duties come before his extreme curiosity.

* * *

He ran up the hill, purposely leaving tracks for the boy to follow. He usually moves through woods leaving no sign that he had ever been through, but he needed to be followed. His plan had to play out perfectly. There was no room for even the slightest flaw. He had watched the boy for a while now, he knew how the boy would react to every move that he made. His boss also knew the boy and had information that proved to be very useful. He carried the small box in his pocket as he ran. If his plan played out correctly, which it should, then the boy will find the box when he drops it down the hill. He will try, and fail, to open the box until he figures out the rare specimen it is created from. He will go to the island which it originated to get the only thing that will break the clasp. Then comes phase two of his genius plan.

As he finally reached the top of the hill he went to the hiding spot he had found only days earlier. It was near a tree that would conceal himself from sight and his scent from that dragon. He got himself into his spot then waited. Eventually, he heard the sound of the boy's voice. He waited until the boy had found the bottom of the hill, where he had started to make his tracks invisible all but himself, and dropped the box. He did it too quickly for the boy to possibly notice his hand come out from the hiding spot. He had memorized the schedule of the boy's training classes and, right on schedule, he heard the distant roars of the dragons which will remind the boy of his classes. As expected, the boy and his dragon flew off to the classes.

_That's right. Go off to your silly little dragon games. You talent will soon be in my hands. _

* * *

"Where's Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked as he and the other teens, minus Hiccup, flew off to the Academy for their class.

"He should be here… He has been acting so strange lately. Could he be hiding something?" Astrid wondered out lout.

"Maybe he found a magical stone that can transport him to a faraway land full sliced bread and Tuff-cream!" Tuffnut suggested.

"It's called Ruff-cream!" Ruffnut argued.

"No! You _told _me that it is called Tuff-cream!"

"Ruff-cream!"

''Tuff-cream!"

"Guys! It doesn't matter what it is called because nobody will _ever_ eat it!" Snotlout yelled at the twins.

The twins ignored Snotlout and began tackling each other to the ground. Just then the teens heard the roar of a Nightfury and Hiccup and Toothless flew into the Academy. Hiccup had tried to hide the box in Toothless' saddle bag but it was to big for the flap to completely cover it. Hiccup hoped that no one would notice it, though.

"Alright, everybody, let's get started." He instructed as he jumped down to the ground and walked over to his chalkboard. "Today we are going to do another quiz game. Split into your teams; the team with the most points at the end wins."

All of the teens grabbed a barrel for themselves and the teams went on separate sides of the clipboard; Astrid with Fishlegs, and Snotlout with Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"I don't really think these teams are fair." Snotlout complained.

"If you want to switch with Fishlegs—" Hiccup started.

"No!" Astrid interrupted.

"No, I meant it's not fair for anyone else to be on Team Snotlout. Team Astrid needs all the help it can get against me." Snotlout finished, flexing his muscles and making Astrid gag. Hiccup sighed in annoyance.

"Okay first question, this is an easy one for Team Snotlout: Which dragon has the hottest fire?"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were too distracted to hear the answer. Ruffnut had noticed the black box in Hiccup's saddle bag. She elbowed Tuffnut in the ribs for him to look. She pointed to the saddle bag before he was able to hit her or tackle her to the ground.

"What is it?" Tuffnut asked.

"I'm not sure." Ruffnut answered.

They stared at it the entire class, fantasizing about what could be inside.

"Last question: Which dragon leurs its prey with the sweet smell of chocolate?" Hiccup looked at both teams and, knowing that this was the hardest question, he smiled. Fishlegs slapped his hand down on his barrel, the signal to answer the question.

"Team Astrid."

"Um, is it the Snaptrapper?"

"Correct! Point, Team Astrid. That makes the score fifty-three to zero." Hiccup concluded.

"Yeah! Team Astrid wins again! And Snotlout thought that we needed help." Astrid gloated, trying to get on Snotlout's nerves. But he was body listening to something that the twins were telling him.

"Do you think it could be treasure?" Snotlout whispered to the twins after they told him about the box.

"Maybe. I though it would be some stupid Hiccup contraption." Tuffnut answered.

"Well, where is it? I want to look inside of it." Snotlout asked.

"Over here." Ruffnut and Tuffnut led Snotlout over to Toothless and pointed into his saddle bag.

"Is that it?" Snotlout asked, disappointed at the size.

"Whatever it is that it is, that is it." Tuffnut responded.

"What does that even mean?" Snotlout asked him.

"It… uh… um… Even I don't know!" Tuffnut smiled stupidly.

"What are you guys looking at?" Hiccup came over behind the three and crossed his arms skeptically. They all immediately turned around and stiffened up.

"Nothing!" They said in unison. Hiccup looked over their shoulders and saw the black box.

"Were you snooping in my stuff?" Hiccup asked skeptically.

"No!" Snotlout defended himself.

"We just happened to look over into your saddle bag and we maybe wanted to know what it was!" Ruffnut lied, stupidly.

"Ya, our legs brought us here without our permission. Stupid legs!" Tuffnut added.

"You guys can't just go through my stuff like that." Hiccup said

"We would have to snoop around if you weren't so secretive." Snotlout criticized Hiccup.

"Me? You think I'm the problem here?"

"You are always the problem! You can't do anything right!" Snotlout yelled at him.

"Come on, Toothless." Hiccup and Toothless walked out of the Academy. Snotlout and the twins all had separate thought about how to find out what was in the box as Hiccup jumped onto Toothless.

"Hiccup? Where are you going?" Astrid called after him. "What did you say to him?!" She yelled at Snotlout.

"Nothing!"

Astrid gave Snotlout a death glare but Tuffnut answered her question.

"He was snooping in Hiccup's saddle bag and then he told Hiccup that he was the problem and that he was being to secretive."

"Ugh!" Astrid hopped onto Stormfly and went after Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup landed Toothless at the forge. What Snotlout said hadn't really bothered him too much, he mostly wanted to get inside the box. He used his knife first, then a sword. When they didn't work he tried using anything else he could find. He had resorted to trying to pry the box open with a knife.

Hiccup suddenly heard a crash in the back of the forge. He placed the box down on the table in front of him and slowly stepped into the back. He silently turned around the corner, his heart racing, and saw a man in a black cloak. The man was completely still, his hood covering his face. He has his back turned to Hiccup and he was looking through some blueprints that Hiccup had drawn.

"You have great talent, boy." Hiccup froze in his tracks as the man turned to him.

"Soon that talent will be mine." With that he jumped out of the window. Hiccup ran up to the window and saw the man standing right outside.

"Let's keep this encounter a secret, shall we? Don't bother truing to figure out who I am, you will know soon enough." Hiccup watched as the man ran into the woods, completely undetected by any surrounding villagers.

"Hiccup?" The voice made him jump and squeal slightly. He calmed himself down when he realized the voice came from his father. He walked stiffly back into the main room of the forge. He saw his dad looking at the box and quickly snatched it up and hid it behind his back.

"What's that you've got there?" His dad stepped to the side to see what was behind his son's back.

"Nothing. I-I'm just gonna go back to the house now." Hiccup quickly ran over to Toothless and they took of.

"What is going on with you?" Stoik asked, mostly to himself. His son was being secretive, and now he finds Hiccup trying to open a strange box. His son wasn't usually like this… what was going on. And he was going to find out. He had to protect his only son, and he had a feeling this was not good. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

**_I used the reference of Tuff-cream/Ruff-cream from the latest episode of Dragons: Defenders of Berk; it is basically ice-cream. The Snaptrapper was one of the dragon featured in the short "The Book Of Dragons". Just wanted to make sure to give Dreamworks the credit- I defiantly didn't come up with either of those._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's note: Hey readers! So this chapter begins where the last one ended, except it goes on with Hiccup and Toothless and what they do, instead of ending with Stoik. I am exited to post this chapter; this is where it gets good! I hope you guys like reading it as much as I liked writing it! _**

**_Read, review, and enjoy chapter 4 of Watchful!_**

* * *

"Nothing. I-I'm just gonna go back to the house now." Hiccup quickly ran over to Toothless and they took off. They started to fly off to their house, but only to fool Stoik.

"To the woods, bud." Hiccup instructed Toothless. Toothless landed in front of the forest where the man ran in and Hiccup jumped off onto the ground.

"Come on Toothless. This time we are finding him." Hiccup took the black box out of the saddle bag and headed into the forest. Toothless was reluctant, but still followed his best friend into the forest.

"Can you get a smell?" Hiccup asks while searching the ground for footprints. Toothless lifted his head to sniff but didn't get any unusual scent.

"He came in here, I know he did. How is it possible that he didn't leave any trail?" Hiccup asked himself skeptically while looking into the dense forest he was about to search.

Astrid and Stormfly landed in front of the forge, still looking for Hiccup after he had left the Academy. Astrid jumped down onto the ground and walked into the forge. She didn't find Hiccup, but Stoik was there.

"Stoik? Have you seen Hiccup?" Astrid asked politely.

"I have. He just left. Why are you looking for him?" He responded.

"Oh, I was just making sure he was okay. Snotlout and the twins were being… well, normal. Hiccup left with Toothless and I haven't seen him since."

"I need you and the other riders to go look for him immediately."

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. He is acting quite strange… I need you to make sure there is nothing wrong." With that the great Stoik the Vast left the forge. Astrid jumped back onto Stromfly and they flew off toward the Academy, hoping that Hiccup would have gone back, and to get the other riders.

* * *

He went through the treetops, leaving no sign of a trail to follow and no scent. He made sure of it. He knew that the boy would be looking for him and he needed to have time to set the trap. The plan was moving faster than he had anticipated, the boy having seen him in the forge. He had been looking for the paper which had the information about the specimen he had used for the box. He wanted to make sure that the boy would find it so the plan would move at the pace he wanted. He hadn't found the paper when the boy had come in. Of course, he had previously planned what he would say if he ever met the boy, after the first time when he was completely unprepared. He had played it off well this last time. He didn't have time to find the paper so he had to use the equally planned out back-up plan. He liked this plan better, anyway. His boss had been reluctant to cause this much harm to the boy, in fear of the boy not being able to do the job that was in store for him. His boss had told him to bring the boy back alive, not dead. His boss never specified how close to dead the boy could be. He intended to make sure that the boy was alive, but only just. For now at least.

* * *

Hiccup was walking through the forest slowly and on high alert; he had the sensation that he and Toothless weren't alone. He was also looking closely for any signs of that man.

_Who is he? What does he mean that my talent will soon be in his hands? _

Hiccup was thinking to himself but was brought back to his senses by Toothless' growling. Hiccup placed his hand on the dragon's head to attempt to calm him down.

"What is it, bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless' right ear lifted up and Toothless turned his head in that direction, growling slightly louder.

Hiccup took his hand off of Toothless and let it drop to his side. He walked over to where Toothless was staring and looked up into the tree. While Hiccup was looking through the bushes, he just had that feeling one gets when they _know_ something is up, Toothless heard another sound.

It was extremely faint, only a dragon with exceptional hearing would have detected it. He turned around to inspect it and he saw something move in the bushes. He walked over to the and peered into them. Before he got close enough to pounce on the bushes something, or rather _someone_, ran out. Toothless immediately bounded after him, recognizing the man.

Toothless hadn't realized how far away from Hiccup he had gotten when he lost the man. He frantically looked around for the man that made his rider so nervous, but found no sign of him. He took one step with intentions of returning to his rider but accidentally triggered a trap. Toothless roared in frustration, pain, and surprise as bolas were wrapping themselves around his body, tail, and mouth. His red tail fin was torn off and landed a foot or so away from the rest of him. Toothless struggled helplessly, but all attempts to free himself were futile. Toothless saw out of the corner of his vision that the man he had been chasing was walking up to him.

"I hope you and the boy said your goodbyes." The man said deviously and walked away. In the distance Toothless heard his little Hiccup scream. The scream went from a scream of surprise to a moan of pain. Toothless struggled ten times stronger, and if he could he would have gone over to the man and rip him limb from limb. Toothless knew that the man was the cause for all of this, and he wasn't going to rest until he found the man and got his Hiccup back.

* * *

Hiccup knew that there was something going on. He just _knew_. He couldn't explain it, but he just had that feeling. He was too busy searching the bushes that he didn't even notice Toothless wandering off behind him. He still had the box clutched in his left hand as he looked through the bushes with his right. His searches were interrupted by the roar of a Nightfury, but the roar was cut short.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said aloud as he ran toward his best friend. He was to busy trying to get to his dragon that he didn't see the trigger that was low on the forest floor. He heard the sound of something flying through the air and he only just had time to register the sound as he was entangled in a bola. He screamed as the bola wrapped him up and knocked him off of his feet. He had been running dangerously near the edge of the hill, and the force of the bola hitting him had sent him over the edge of the cliff and down the hill, hitting every tree on his way down.

Hiccup landed in the man's camp, unconscious and bleeding.


	5. Chapter 5

Astrid landed Stormfly in the Academy and jumped down onto the stone floor. She looked around and her heart sank when she didn't see Hiccup.

"Astrid? What's wrong?" Fishlegs asked.

"Come on. We need to go look for Hiccup." She instructed.

"Why?" Snotlout asked, not moving from where he was standing.

"Because Stoik told us to. Now come on!" She responded, irritated by Snotlout as always.

"Um, where do we look?" Fishlegs asked.

"Everywhere on the island." Astrid answered as she mounted Stormfly and flew off.

"What if he left the island? Like… not by choice?" Snotlout wondered out loud.

"What does that mean?" Ruffnut asked. Astrid opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Tuffnut.

"No, no, let me guess. How many guesses do I get? Five? Okay, uh, uh, it means… Okay I'm totally clueless." He smiled awkwardly at his lack of knowledge. Astrid huffed in annoyance, also trying to hide her fear that what Snotlout said might be true.

"He means that Hiccup might have been kidnapped." She said coldly.

"Again." Snotlout added, earning a glare from Astrid. "He never does anything right! He never has done anything right and he never will do anything right!" Snotlout criticized, using it as a cover for his inward jealousy of his cousin.

"Snotlout!" Astrid snapped.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"What are you saying exactly?! Because in my eyes,"

"Will you guys stop fighting! You two are getting to be worse than the twins!" Fishlegs yelled over Astrid and Snotlout's bickering.

"Yeah!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Wait, what?" Ruffnut asked, realizing what Fishlegs had meant.

"Can we just go look for Hiccup already?" Astrid said and flew off on Stormfly toward the woods, the others closely following.

The group of dragons and riders flew around the island, searching for any sign of their friend. Snotlout had gone around the beaches, Fishlegs had gone to the village, Astrid was searching the forest, and the twins were doing nothing productive.

"What are we supposed to be doing again?" Tuffnut asked his sister as they flew Barf and Belch in circles around a big tree. They were starting to get dizzy to the point of not thinking strait… but like they ever do.

"I don't know. Looking for someone somewhere." She answered lazily.

"I'm seeing stars!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"I can't see anything!" Ruffnut yelled, equally exited. Their dragon was starting to feel the same way while he tried to fly away, ending up crash-landing deep into the forests of Berk. When they regained enough sense to take in their surroundings, they noticed something strange.

"What… is… that?" Ruffnut said, her jaw hanging wide open at the sight in front of her.

"Duh, a trail of blood." Tuffnut answered.

"I knew that, but I mean what caused it?"

"How am I supposed to know? Do you know?"

"Why do you think I asked you?"

"Because you want to know how my brain works. Good luck with that, even I don't know!"

Before Ruffnut could answer the twins heard a rustling in the bushes a little bit away from them. They froze in their tracks, their dragon taking a protective stance around them. They were becoming more and more tense with every passing second, every rustle in the bushes. Finally they caught a glimpse of the source of the movement, a man in a black cape. When they saw him he disappeared back into the shadows, only to reappear behind the twins. They both jumped when he spoke.

"What are you doing this deep in the woods?" He spoke with the same voice that one uses when threatening death.

"Um… we were just… hungry… for… outdoor food…" Tuffnut answered weakly.

"Who are you?" Ruffnut asked the strange man.

"Who am I? Who… am… I…?" He paused as if considering his answer. "I am your worst fear, your feared enemy, your nightmare come to life. I am a spy, a bounty hunter, and a dragon killer. I will be your enemy's rise, and your and your friend's demise." With every answer he took a step closer to the twins, finally hitting them and rendering them unconscious after the last one. Their dragon made no protest for it had been silently tied up by bolas before the man even appeared to Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

The man smiled to himself, for his plan was going perfectly. The boy would defiantly cooperate if he saw that his friends were about to be killed. The boy would do what he and his boss wanted to save his friends. Although, in the end his friends will die anyway. Along with that retched boy and his Nightfury.


	6. Chapter 6

Falling. The sensation of falling. Pain. The thorns from the branches, the hardness of the ground. Darkness. All he knows us darkness. Unconsciousness. Subconscious pain. Pain… Fear…

Hiccup jolted awake from his nightmare. He is breathing heavily and his heart was pounding. It felt like it would beat right out of his chest.

_Where am I? What happened to me? Why is everything so dark? Where is Toothless?_

A million questions rushed through Hiccup's head as the adrenaline rush faded away. He realizes his eyes were closed, causing the darkness. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to clear his blurry vision. His vision finally clears and he sees that he is in a forest. Hiccup's initial thought is that he has been captured but he sees no signs of foul play. He looks around and sees nobody anywhere near him. All he saw was trees. Hiccup is deep in a forest, but which forest he could not say.

Hiccup's memories were slowly coming back to him as he took in his surroundings. Searching the woods with Toothless, a bola, then falling, pain, and nothing. As he remembers falling he feels the pain around his body. Hiccup has a strong hatred of trees and cliffs at the moment. He looks down at his tunic and it is covered in red. he touches the place where the red color is the darkest and pulls his hand back quickly with a hiss of pain. Hiccup pulls up his tunic to find a deep gash going across the length of his chest. He gasps, not only at the huge gash but also at the number of smaller cuts littering his chest.

Hiccup moved all of his limbs slowly, checking to make sure that nothing was broken. Fortunately for him nothing was broken, but he did have an immense pain in his lower left leg. Well, as low as it goes. He looked down and saw that a thick stick from one of the trees was piercing deep into his flesh. Hiccup gasped at it and started debating whether to pull it out.

"Looks like you won't be running away any time soon." The deep voice made Hiccup jump.

"W-who's there?" Hiccup asked softly while looking around him to find the source of the voice. While he was looking around Hiccup realized that he was nowhere near a cliff. He assumed that the source of the voice must have moved him away from the cliff.

"Where have you taken me?" Hiccup asked with more force, trying his best to keep the fear out of his voice.

"That information won't be of use to you, Hiccup." A man emerged from the shadows wearing a black cape with a hood over his face. The man was tall and not as buff as the usual viking but would not be considered skinny.

"How do you know my name?" Hiccup was starting to get really nervous at the situation. The man came closer to Hiccup before answering.

"I know everything about you." The man spoke with a voice that suggested authority and a threat. Hiccup sat in awe and fear of the man standing before him.

"W-who are you?" Hiccup asked once more, scared about what he might find out. The man glared at Hiccup for a while then reluctantly answered.

"My name… is Caetis." The man, Caetis, answered.

"Okay, Caetis, how do you know who I am?" Hiccup asked hesitantly yet confidently. Caetis walked slowly over to Hiccup and knelt down beside his ear.

"I am _watchful_." Caetis then stood up and walked a good three feet away from Hiccup. He pulled off his black hood to reveal his face. His skin was darker than Hiccup's, but not by too much. His black hair was long and sleek, it went down to his shoulders. It was wavy and thin. His eyes were a dark brown that looked to Hiccup like a black hole. Now that he saw Caetis, Hiccup was ten times more intimidated. He tried hard, and succeeded, not to show his intimidation.

"What do you want with me?"

"And why would I tell you that? All you need to know is that if you don't do what I say, I will make you watch as I personally torture every person you know. I will make you watch as the people you love take their very last breaths. Then, and only then, will I torture and kill you." Caetis smiled at the horrified expression on Hiccup's face. Hiccup soon realized the emotion showing on his face and changed back to a determined expression. Hiccup nodded to show that he understood what Caetis was saying.

"Good boy. Now, I would tie your hands up and tell you to follow me but it looks like you might have a problem with that." Caetis gestured to Hiccup's leg.

"Really? I didn't even notice that something was stabbing my leg." Hiccup replied sarcastically.

"Don't try to anger me, boy. You have no telling what I am capable of." Caetis threatened.

"If you kill me I won't be much use to you, will I?"

"Oh, I won't kill you." Caetis smiled and stood right above Hiccup. He picked a thick branch and held it up high. "But I can come very close." That was the last thing Hiccup heard before everything went black.

"I like him much better unconscious." Caetis said grimly to himself as he dragged Hiccup off toward his boat, where he also held the boy's friends.

* * *

Ruffnut tried to open her eyes, only barely conscious. When she finally got her heavy eyelids open she waited for her vision to focus once more then looked around to take in her surroundings. She noticed that the room she was in was wood. All wood. She could also feel the room swaying and moving, like it was in… water. A boat!

Ruffnut also noticed a sharp pain in her head, right around her hair line. She reached her hand up to grasp her head but gasped when she saw that her hands were restrained. Actually, everything was restrained. She was sitting up against a wall with her hands tied behind her to the wall of the boat and her feet were tied together so that she wouldn't be able to run away. She started struggling to get free until she heard a faint moan from her left. Her brother was waking up too.

"Tuff! Are you okay?" She asked.

"No, I'm hurt. I am very much hurt!" Tuffnut exclaimed then pretty much did the same things as Ruffnut.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"What does it look like?" Ruffnut replied.

"Uh, it looks like wood."

"It's a boat. Duh! But don't ask me whose."

Tuffnut opened his mouth to retort but he stopped because he heard movement from somewhere else close by in the boat. Or was it in their very room?

"Who's there?" Tuffnut said into the darkness. There was a torch above the twins' heads but it's light only shove so far. The only answer the twins got was a low moan of pain. They squinted through the darkness to find another cage door that was thicker then theirs. Wait, cage door!?

"Are we in a cage!?" Tuffnut cried.

"Sh, I'm trying to listen." Ruffnut ordered.

"Listen for what? How are you going to hear anything over me talking?"

"It would help if you would stop talking!"

"If I could I would hit you right now!" Tuffnut threatened.

"Why don't you just hit yourself? We're twins, remember?" Ruffnut forgot about what she had been doing and focused on Tuffnut's stupidity causing him pain. He hit his head hard against the wall and the ringing of his helmet echoing throughout the room.

"Ow… do it again." Ruffnut smiled as her twin hit his head against the wall to the point of unconsciousness.

"Ha, idiot. Wait, was there something I was doing?" Ruffnut tried hard to think of what she was doing.

"Ugh, this is why I _don't_ think!" Then Ruffnut heard a familiar moan that reminded her what she was doing before she got distracted. She peered through the darkness once more, through the bars of her and her brother's cage, through the other cage door, but sadly the light from the torch above her head did not reach far enough to see the source of the moan.

"Ugh, stupid darkness. Stupid eyes." She leaned her head up against the wall a little too hard.

"Ow, stupid head." Ruffnut said to herself.

She tensed up when she heard movement once again. She froze and listened intently. She heard the sound of a jiggling lock and then a door was thrown open, light flooding into the room. Ruffnut saw that she was in fact on a boat. She also realized that they were in the lower deck of a boat. There were two cages on the boat, one that held her and her brother and one that had thicker bars and was by far less escapable. Ruffnut recognized the man that had walked in to be the one that had knocked her and her brother unconscious. He was carrying somebody, but she could not see who. The man threw an unconscious boy into the other cage and locked it. He turned around and looked at Ruffnut.

"Say goodbye to Berk."


	7. Chapter 7

Astrid and Stormfly flew through the woods looking for Hiccup. She had been looking through all of the forests on the island and had found nothing. This forest, the one closest to the village, was the last one she hadn't searched. The other riders had gone in for the night, well Snotlout and Fishlegs had. She hadn't seen the twins but she assumed that they had gone back to their house for the night. At least she hopes they had.

"Stormfly, lets go down to the ground. I'll walk for a while, you seem tired." Astrid said sweetly to her beloved dragon and Stormfly squawked in approval. The duo landed on the ground in front of the forest and Astrid jumped down onto the sift grass. Astrid looked down at the ground and saw footprints. Two pairs of footprints. One was the size of a Nightfury's paws and the other was one foot and a smaller shape.

"Hiccup and Toothless must have come in here!" Astrid exclaimed. She ran into the woods with newfound hope. She had a chance to find them! She had to find them.

Astrid followed the trails deep into the woods. With every step she took she was one step closer to finding Hiccup. Her senses were on higher alert as she followed the footprints deeper and deeper into the forest. Astrid and Stormfly followed the trails into a small clearing and the trails split. Astrid furrowed her brow in confusion.

_Toothless left Hiccup?_

Astrid decided to follow the trail that Toothless left first, then she would come back and go along Hiccup's trail. Astrid soon found that Toothless had went from walking slowly to running after something, but there was no indication of what he was running after. Astrid followed the trail of paw prints to the end and found something that shocked her.

"Toothless' tail." Astrid said as she picked up the red tail fin. She looked around and saw nothing else but some broken bolas.

"Toothless either escaped whatever was holding him here or…" She could not finish her sentence. Astrid ran back along the trail to where Hiccup and Toothless had separated. She saw that Hiccup's trail of footprints ended abruptly near the edge of a cliff. Astrid dared herself to look over the edge, hoping to find Hiccup at the bottom. All she saw was broken branches and a little bit of blood.

"Hiccup… where are you?"

* * *

Ruffnut had hours after man had left to speak. She was too afraid of him hearing her. Apart from that, she had just come out of the initial shock of the situation.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" She asked to the unknown person in the cage across from her.

"Of course I can hear you, you are right beside me." Tuffnut answered. Ruffnut rolled her eyes at her twin.

"I wasn't talking to you, idiot."

"Then who were you talking to? Your imaginary boyfriend? Because you'll never get one in real life." Tuffnut smirked as he answered.

"There is someone else in here. In that other cage."

"I don't see anyone."

"That's because it is dark, you mutton-head." Ruffnut retorted.

Tuffnut opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he heard the jiggling of keys in a lock. Ruffnut grew visibly paler. She usually wasn't scared of anything, but this man… this man was different. He just had this… thing about him. The feeling she got whenever she looked into his cold, brown eyes was the feeling that one gets when being threatened death. As the man walked into the room, his shadow became more looming. He turned his back to the twins and looked into the other cage. Ruffnut peered around the man to try to see who he was looking at, but the person was sitting in a corner, covered by shadows.

"Did you have a nice nap?" The man was mocking the voice one uses when speaking to a small child.

"I wouldn't consider being hit to the point of unconsciousness 'nice'." Ruffnut recognized the voice immediately, though it was weak.

"Hiccup?!" The twins called out in unison. Ruffnut assumed that Hiccup's voice was so recognizable that even her idiot brother knew it.

"Ruff, Tuff? Caetis, if you hurt them-" Hiccup started.

"Calm yourself, boy. I have not harmed them. Yet. This is what I was speaking of earlier; if you don't do _exactly_ as I tell you, I have the means to harm those dear to you. Harm them, kill them, all the same to me." Ruffnut was frozen where she was sitting. This man, Caetis, is threatening to hurt her and her twin if Hiccup didn't do… whatever Caetis will have him do.

"Are you threatening to kill us? 'Cause if you are, you might want to clear that with some people. Our parents, our friends, Stoik, the people that don't hate us… wait, most people hate us. So really not that many people…" Tuffnut started out with a confident voice but it faltered as he went on with his comment.

"We blow things up a lot. It makes people not like us, but it is totally worth it." Ruffnut added and then tried to hit her helmet to her brothers. They failed miserably, only making their already tight chains cut farther into their skin.

Hiccup had scooted himself out of the shadows, but Ruffnut still wondered why he wasn't standing up. Ruffnut saw that Hiccup's face was strained with anger and hatred at Caetis.

"That brings me to my offer for you." Caetis said to Hiccup, ignoring the twins. "If you do what I say, I will let your friends go free. If you refuse my offer, I will torture and kill them both. And I will make you watch. We have already been over what happens if you refuse yet again after I dispose of them."

"What do you want with me?" Hiccup asked, clearly conflicted and curious.

"That is a conversation we will have in private." Caetis said coldly gesturing at the twins. He turned back to Hiccup. "All in due time. You will not be getting any food or water during the trip to ensure that you will not try to escape when we dock this ship at our destination."

"And where would that be?" Hiccup asked.

"You aren't getting it out of me that easily, boy. I may not look it, but I am smarted than you could possibly imagine" Caetis said as he closed the metal door and locked it. Ruffnut visibly relaxed as Caetis left for the upper deck of the ship.

"Ruff, Tuff, are you guys okay?" Hiccup asked.

"If you consider 'okay' being held against our will by a man threatening to kill us, then yes. We are doing great." Ruffnut replied sarcastically.

"That's not exactly what I meant…" Hiccup frowned slightly. "Look, guys, Caetis won't hurt you. He wants me and if he… you know… then he looses his leverage. I just have to play by his rules."

"What does he want you to do?" Ruffnut asked.

"I-I'm not sure. But it can't be good." Hiccup replied while looking at his leg. Ruffnut couldn't see what on his leg he was looking at, but she was pretty sure she saw blood surrounding it.

"What can you do that I can't?" Tuffnut asked Hiccup.

"Everything." Ruffnut said.

"I can do anything just as good as him!" Tuffnut argued.

"Whatever." Ruffnut replied.

"Wait, Tuff, that's it! You just said something unintentionally brilliant!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"I knew that. That's… why I said it. See, Hiccup thinks I'm brilliant." Tuffnut smirked at his twin.

"He said 'unintentionally'. Don't you know what that means?" Ruffnut asked.

"Uh, no. Big words scare me." Tuffnut said with a grim expression. Ruffnut laughed silently at her brother's comment.

"The thing that Caetis wants me to do," Hiccup said, ignoring the twins bickering, "is-" Hiccup suddenly stopped talking. Ruffnut saw his gaze drift to the small window in the back of the ship. She knew it was there because of the dim light that came through it, but she couldn't see it from the place she was. Hiccup's face turned to fear at whatever he saw.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey everybody! Who else wanted to cry at Hiccup's ending narration for the Dragons: Defenders of Berk finale? I know I did… it will be weird not watching an episode every Wednesday! I saw on wiki that season 3 has been confirmed but none of the details have been released. I hope it is true! And this fanfic will go on as if the finale didn't another note: I have posted another story. It was originally just a way to get over my writers block for my stories (which I still have for my other one) but it got a lot of positive feedback. Go check it out! It is called Stranded.**_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Stiok, Thornado, and the other riders and their dragons were scouring the island for clues to where Hiccup and the twins had gone. They had found Barf and Belch tied up and unconscious and they had found Toothless' tail fin. There were no other clues to where he had gone. After hours of searching the island and the areas around the island, Stoik had only three options to where his son had gone.

"W-What now, sir?" Fishelgs asked Stiok.

"There are only three options to where they could be." Stiok responded. Astrid and Fishlegd understood what he meant and which option he thought it was.

"And they are…" Snotlout asked.

"Alvin, Dagur, or…" Stiok could not finish; he could not bear the thought.

"When do we leave?" Astrid asked. Just then they heard the clap of thunder and saw a flash of lightning in the distance.

"We can't fly our dragons during a storm and the waters will not be calm enough to sail. We will have to wait out the storm." Stiok explained sadly. They all sighed as they flew back to the village to prepare for the storm.

_Don't worry, son. I will find you._ Stoik thought to himself.

* * *

"Outcast Island." Hiccup said softly, still looking out the small window.

"What? I can't hear you over her incredibly loud breathing." Tuffnut responded, gesturing toward Ruffnut.

"Outcast Island." Hiccup repeated with more volume and courage.

"Oh, that makes so much more sense." Tuffnut replied with a relieved sigh and smile.

"Does it really?" Ruffnut asked him.

"Heh, no. I have absolutely no idea what is going on." He looked to his sister for the answer.

"Don't look at me." They both turned to Hiccup, who face palmed.

"Caetis works for Alvin!" Hiccup explained.

"Thats bad, right?" Ruffnut asked.

"Um, ya, it's bad! Really bad." Hiccup exclaimed.

"Bad." Ruffnut repeated and nodded.

"We know what Alvin wants and how bad he wants it. If we don't give it to him…"Hiccup started with a grim expression.

"Death." Tuffnut finished enthusiastically.

"What?" Hiccup asked skeptically. He thought the blood loss was finally getting to his head when he heard Tuffnut's answer.

"Did you not hear me? I said _death_!" Tuffnut yelled as loud as he could.

"It will be amazing! Think of the scars we would get!" Ruffnut yelled as loud as she could.

"YA!" The twins proceeded to do their signature head-but, but were restrained by their chains.

* * *

Caetis stood on the top deck of his small ship. He was smiling to himself; he had really done it! He had pulled off his mission! His master will surely promote him to right hand man. Caetis bringing the Dragon Trainer to his master… oh, the joy! He can't wait to see the look on the Dragon Trainer's face when he figures out where Caetis has taken him.

"_Death_!" Caetis heard someone yell from below deck.

"It will be amazing! Think of the scars we would get!"

"YA!"

"Idiots." Caetis said to himself as he tried to ignore the kids below him. Caetis smiled as he saw Outcast Island in the distance. As Outcast Island grows closer, so do his rewards for the boy. The wind was in a fairly straight path and the island was a ways out, so Caetis decided he would go below deck and have some fun. His version of fun included someone else in pain. He walked to the first wooden door and pulled it open, revealing a staircase that leads to an iron door. He could hear the kids talking behind the door but the second he started jiggling the keys in the door the other room fell deathly silent. Caetis smiled with the thought that he brought fear into children's hearts. He swung open the door and walked in-between the two cells; one holding his profit and power, and the other holding his leverage.

"I trust you have figured out where I am taking you by now." Caetis said to Hiccup. He received a glare from said boy.

"I have absolutely no idea." Tuffnut said.

"Hiccup just told us!" Ruffnut retorted.

"No, no, he told us that this ding-bat works for Alvin. I have no idea where we are going." Tuffnut responded.

"Outcast Island." Ruffnut said dully.

"Really? I could tell more of my jokes and song more songs with hose guards! They cold really carry a tune." Tuffnut then started humming to himself.

"Silence! From both of you! Now, Hiccup, where were we?" Caetis asked authoritatively.

"You were just about to let us go free?" Hiccup asked.

"Not a chance, boy. You are my ticket to power, prosperity, and profit. And you _will_ do what I want you to." Caetis leaned in close to Hiccup's bars as he spoke as to give the boy the threatening feel.

"Or else what?" Ruffnut asked. Caetis smiled as he turned around.

"Why don't I show you? That should make it clear enough for everybody here." Caetis replied as he unlocked the twins' cage door.

"Finally someone giving a decent explanation." Tuffnut said, relieved.

"No. No, Caetis, don't involve them in this! You said yourself that this is between you and me!" Hiccup pleaded, assuming what Caetis was about to do.

"Now, what fun would that be?" Caetis asked as he walked up in front of the twins.

"Consider this a lesson, all of you." Caetis brought his leg back and swung his foot hard into Tuffnut's face. He smiled at the shocked gasps of the other two in the room. Caetis had excepted Tuffnut to recoil in pain, which would have given Caetis the satisfaction.

"Ooh, boot to the face, I love a good boot to the face!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Hey, why do you get to have all the fun? I want to give him 'a good boot to the face'!" Ruffnut then attempted to give her twin 'a good boot to the face' but was restricted by her chains. She huffed in annoyance while Caetis just stood speechless.

_How could these idiots possibly enjoy this?_ Caetis thought to himself. He turned to look at Hiccup and still got satisfaction. Even though Hiccup knew that the twins didn't mind pain, they actually enjoy it, he still couldn't stand knowing that he was the reason they were hurt.

"You didn't have to do that." Hiccup said darkly while looking at the floor.

"Now you will listen to me." Caetis replied with an evil grin. He then unlocked Hiccup's cell door and dragged him out. Hiccup tried to struggle and get free but Caetis was stronger than he looked. The twins' eyes widened when they saw Hiccup's leg: it looked to them like something had stabbed him then had been roughly pulled out. Caetis took Hiccup to the top deck of the boat and threw him down.

"Here is what I want from you, boy…"


	9. Chapter 9

"Here is what I want form you, boy. My master has a problem with… pests. The very same pests that you deal with."

"You are going to make me train dragons for Alvin?" Hiccup asked, surprised that Caetis didn't have a more complex plan.

"Not exactly. I am going to sell you to Alvin to train dragons, but, after a while, you will be doing something for me." Caetis smiled wickedly.

"And what would that be?" Hiccup asked hesitantly.

"The truth is: I despise serving people. I want power and wealth of my own! You are going to help me achieve that." Caetis only smiled larger at the look of fear and confusion on Hiccup's face.

"Why would I help you?" Hiccup retorted.

"If you value the lives of your family and friends you will do what I say." Caetis commanded. "Oh, don't even consider telling your irritating little friends down there about my plan. This _will_ stay between us." Hiccup didn't have time to react before he was dragged back below deck and thrown once more into his cell. Caetis locked the cell door and went back above deck to prepare for the docking of the boat.

As Outcast Island was slowly approaching, so was the next phase of his master plan. He had to pretend that everything was normal. He had to pretend that the riches that Alvin would pay for the boy was all that he was really looking for. In all reality, he didn't care for the riches he would soon receive. All Caetis has ever wanted was people to do what he tells them to. He never had any power of his own. He had made mistakes in his life and he thought power would either make up for them or make him forget about them.

**_~Flashback~_**

_A ten-year-old boy ran through the streets of his village during a dragon raid. He had been instructed by his father to stay at the house and protect his younger brother and mother, but Caetis didn't listen. Caetis had heard the tales of men in his village slaying powerful dragons and getting rewarded by becoming a closer accomplice of the leader of the island, Alvin the Treacherous. Caetis wanted to show everyone that he could slay a powerful dragon just as easily as they could. Caetis saw the men of Outcast Island fighting off dragons. He saw that one Monstrous Nightmare got away from the crowd and was flying away. The dragon had an injured wing and landed in the forest._

_"This is it! This is my chance to kill a dragon and show everyone that I'm not just a stupid child!" Caetis encouraged himself as he unsheathed his favorite sword and ran into the woods. He found the dragon in the woods and slowly snuck up behind it. He noticed that there was also a Terrible Terror with the Nightmare. Caetis held his sword high and charged, yelling a battle cry as he charged at the Nightmare. His cry spooked the Terror and it charged at him. He dodged the attack and brought his sword back to swing down on the Nightmare. The Terror grabbed his sword and flung it away. _

_"Stupid dragon!" Caetis yelled as he saw the Terror coming to attack him. Caetis closed his eyes, waiting for the attack that never came. He heard the screech of a small dragon and the protest of a larger one. Caetis heard a struggle and eventually everything went quiet _

_"Open your eyes, wimp." Caetis heard the voice of his father. He opened his eyes to see his father standing before him with a blood-stained sword. _

_"Father, I-"_

_"You disobeyed my orders and because of that your brother and mother were left defenseless. I tried to get there in time but I was too late. Then I find you out here being taken down by the the smallest and least ferocious dragon in the entire world!" _

_"What do you mean by 'too late'?" Caetis asked, tears forming in his eyes. His father just dropped two pieces of cloth in front of him and turned around. _

_"You can never repay what you have caused. No amount of wealth or power will fix this. It does not pain me to say that you are no longer my son." Those were the last words Caetis ever heard from his father. He looked down at the pieces of cloth and realized that they were from the clothing that his brother and mother wear… wore._

_**~End of Flashback~**_

* * *

Hiccup landed with a thud on the cold stone floor of his cell.

"That looked like it hurt." Ruffnut said. Hiccup sighed.

"It did." He responded.

"What did he tell you?" Ruffnut asked.

"Did he happen to tell you if we are going to get some food anytime soon? Or when we get to Outcast Island?" Tuffnut asked.

"Outcast food gives me gas." Ruffnut interrupted.

"I don't remember asking you!" Tuffnut yelled.

"What _did_ he tell you?" Ruffnut asked Hiccup once more. Hiccup remembered that Caetis had told him to keep everything from the twins. Hiccup hated with all of his heart betraying his friends like this but he knew it had to be done.

"Uh, he told me… that… he told me that Alvin will be waiting for us when we get to Outcast Island." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth either. Tuffnut was just about to respond when they all heard someone yell from above.

"Ah, Caetis, glad to see you aren't dead. Do you have my… package?" A low, raspy voice asked.

"Yes, and two extras along with it." Caetis responded.

"Good, the dragons I have captive haven't gotten good meat in a while." The voice responded. The twins looked to Hiccup.

"Alvin."

* * *

_**Hey readers! Sorry about the length of the chapter but that was the point where I needed to end it. So, I hope you all liked learning some more about Caetis's past. I will probably be doing a flashback of his life in each chapter until there are no more important memories. Please review, I would love to hear what you all think. A review won't hurt you guys, it will only make me happier! It will also make me want to update faster, so... And thanks sooooooooooo much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites I have gotten so far, it really means a lot to know that people enjoy what I write. Until next time! :) **_


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hey readers! Sorry for not updating in a while, life has gotten really busy. Thanks a bunch for all of the reviews, favorites, follows, ect.! I really appreciate them. Whenever I get a good review I am in a good mood for the rest of the day! And thanks also to everyone who just reads this. I am glad that so many people like my story, I hope that the chapters to come live up to your expectations! Read, review, and enjoy chapter 10 of Watchful!_**

* * *

"Alvin." Hiccup said, hearing the voice above deck.

"Did he just say he was going to feed us to the dragons?" Ruffnut asked.

"He won't do that, will he?" Tuffnut asked.

"Alvin knows we are listening. He is just trying to scare us." Hiccup whispered, hoping he was right. The iron door was thrown open, light flooding into the room.

"Ah, 'iccup. Welcome back!" Alvin said with fake hospitality.

"Long time, no see, Alvin. Tell me, how is the whole 'conquering Berk' thing coming for you?" Hiccup smiled, knowing he was getting under Alvin's skin.

"Better now that I have you." Alvin responded.

"And what makes you think I am going to do what you want?" Hiccup retorted.

"You are going to do what I want, which is what he wants." Caetis threatened. Alvin glared at Hiccup and went back up to the top deck.

"Caetis, bring them to their cells." Alvin ordered. Caetis nodded and waited for Alvin to walk out of ear shot.

"Only a little more of obeying you… If only you knew what was coming." Caetis growled.

"What exactly is coming?" Tuffnut asked, causing Hiccup face-palm.

"None of your concern." Caetis growled.

"Why not?" Ruffnut asked.

"Do you _want_ another beating?" Caetis hissed.

"No. Maybe… Yes." Tuffnut answered.

"I can give you one." Ruffnut offered.

"You two will be doing nothing but sitting in a cell." Caetis said as he unlocked Hiccup's cell door. Caetis stood in the doorway and grabbed Hiccup's arm. Hiccup stood, but winced in pain whenever he put pressure on his left leg.

"Can you not walk normally, boy?" Caetis growled.

"Blame yourself. If it weren't for you my leg wouldn't have been stabbed." Hiccup retorted.

"You should be thanking me, then." Caetis replied sarcastically as he dragged Hiccup to the upper deck where Alvin was waiting. Caetis passed Hiccup on to two Outcast guards, who lifted him up off the ground effortlessly. Hiccup struggled, but all his attempts to free himself were futile. Alvin nodded to Caetis and gestured for his men to follow him as he went off toward the heart of Outcast Island. Caetis went back down to where the twins were being held. He sat down against the wall opposite of their cell and just looked into their cell.

"What?" Tuffnut ordered, Caetis' staring making him uncomfortable.

"Nothing." Caetis answered harshly.

"So, where did you take Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, we kind of need him back soon." Tuffnut added.

"What use do have of that runt? What would you lose if he didm;t go back to Berk?" Caetis asked, tooling with the twins. He was hoping to get information of Berk out of them eventually.

"Well, we would have a lot more free time without Academy lessons…" Ruffnut said thoughtfully.

"Wait, lessons? We have lessons?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah, apparently when he stands up in front of all of us at the Academy he expects _all_ of us to listen." Ruffnut explained then shrugged her shoulders.

"How does Hiccup expect us to listen to anything over his constant talking?" Tuffnut asked. Caetis could not help but groaning at their stupidity. He knew that because of their idiocy that they would be easy to get information out of, but did they even have information to give?

* * *

Stoik did not want to accept the facts. He refused to accept that his son was… off somewhere. He was searching the island one last time. He was in the forest when he heard Fishlegs calling.

"Uh, guys! You might want to see this!" Fishlegs called from the forest. Stoik and all the teens went over to see what Fishlegs had found. When they all arrived they saw Fishlegs holding a small black box.

"A box." Snotlout stated obnoxiously.

"Not just any box. Smell it." Fishlegs handed the box to Snotlout.

"A smelly box?" Snotlout guessed. Astrid grabbed the box form Snotlout.

"I recognize this smell…" She handed the box to Stoik.

"You should." Fishlegs responded.

"It smells like… a Loki Tree." Stoik gasped.

"And where do Loki Trees grow?" Fishlegs asked rhetorically.

"Outcast Island." Astrid and Stoik answered in unison.

* * *

_**Sorry about the length, I needed to end the chapter there. If you have any comments, praises, corrections, ect please review! Also, if anyone has a suggestion of what they want to see next, I would love to hear it. I don't write in advance so I can always put your suggestions in one of the upcoming chapters. Remember: a review won't hurt you, it will only make me happy! :)**_


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